Samawati is his name. He's a real rhino and he lives in Africa at a wildlife conservancy called Lewa. (That's his picture to the right.)

Samawati is a white rhino. He is in good health, and lives in an area that has plenty of vegetation for him to graze on. He is protected by a group of dedicated rangers, who patrol the conservancy every day.

Samawati is the Swahili word for Blue. He was named in honor of Blue Rhino, as a thank you for Blue Rhino's sponsorship of The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and its annual fundraiser, Bowling for Rhinos. AAZK realized that the zoo keepers of the world were conservation-oriented and wanted to help save Rhinos and their habitats, yet did not have the financial resources to make any significant impact. That's when the idea came to start a National bowl-a-thon called Bowling For Rhinos.

The beauty of the idea is that these fundraisers are organized by volunteers, who donate their time and organizational skills to help raise money to send to the places in need. Since all the people involved are volunteers, 100% of all donations are sent to 3 Rhino Conservation Areas! In Kenya, Africa AAZK supports the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy where our donations help protect both Black and White Rhinos and most of the other species native to East Africa. In Indonesia, AAZK supports the remaining Javan Rhinos at Ujung Kulon National Park and the Samatran Rhino in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park.

Check out this video to learn more about saving rhinos with Bowling for Rhinos.

Why Save Rhinos?

When we save rhinos, we save rhino habitats so we are saving large areas of land. This in turn saves everything living in this habitat including hundreds of endangered plants and animals. Protecting rhino habitat saves everything from orchids to elephants! Extinction is forever. Endangered means there is still time…

Rhinos have existed on Earth for over 50 million years and have a glorious history. In the past, rhinos were much more diverse and widespread (occurring in North America and Europe as well as in Africa and Asia). Today, only 5 species of rhino survive. "AAZK's Bowling For Rhinos- sponsored by Blue Rhino" helps save 4 of these species. All Rhino species are under threat of extinction. Without drastic action, rhinos could be extinct in the wild within the next 10 years. Only 25,000 of these marvelous creatures survive in the wild or in captivity. Of these rhinos, almost two thirds are of a single subspecies: the Southern White Rhino. There are fewer than 6,000 of the other 4 species combined, including African Black Rhinos, Indian/Nepalese Rhino, Sumatran Rhinos, and Javan Rhinos.